The Walt Disney Company has acquired Lucasfilm and its subsidiaries, including its LucasArts video gaming division, in a deal that's valued at $4.05 billion.

"For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next," George Lucas said in the announcement. "It's now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I've always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime."

According to the announcement, the "present intent" is for all Lucas employees, including LucasArts, to remain in their current locations.

With the company's iconic properties going to Disney, a new film trilogy is being planned. Star Wars: Episode 7 is targeted for a 2015 release, with more films expected "well into the future." Hey, how about a Grim Fandango revival, guys?

LucasArts was working on Star Wars 1313 before the acquisition. According to a company representative, "for the time being all projects are business as usual. We are excited about all the possibilities that Disney brings."

Update: The future of AAA console games from LucasArts seems to be in doubt. Disney CEO Robert Iger spoke at an investor's call, which Polygon picked up: "We're likely to focus more on social and mobile than we are on console. We'll look opportunistically at console, most likely in licensing rather than publishing, but we think that given the nature of these characters and how well known they are, and the storytelling, that they lend themselves quite nicely, as they've already demonstrated to the other platforms."